hello. welcome to "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara. we begin with the coronavirus in japan. 161 new cases were confirmed on tuesday bringing the total to over 2,300 in the capital. the increase comes just one week after the central government declared a month long state of emergency for tokyo and six other prefectures. >> translator: it's still one week. not alreready one week.

all we can do is reduce human to huhuman contact that can transm the virus. we need everybody to cooperate until may 6th. >> all seven prefectures are asking nonessential businesses to close until it expires. they want to reduce the social interaction by at least 70%. they're warning that the young are not immune to the virus which has infected more than 1.9 million people worldwide. the japanese health ministry has released a breakdown showing the ages of all confirmed cases. out of some 7,000, more than half the people infected were younger than 50. researchchers are trying to find a cure for covid-19. they started using an experimental drug designed to treat ebola at three mededical

institutions in japan. remdesivir is being developed by a u.s. company. 4,000 patients will have a clinical trial to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the medicine. across japan more than 300 new cases were confirmed on tuesday. over 8,000 people have now tested positive for the virus. the tally doesn't include 712 cases linked to the "diamond princess" cruise ship which was quarantined in yokohama in february. more than 160 people have died including 12 from the ship. three unesco world heritage sites have closed to visitors. the temporary measure is meant to keep crowds away to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. the closures are at toshogu, and

it's the first time since the mid 1800s that all three have closed. they're expected to remain shut until april 22nd. the residents were asked to refrain from nonessential outings after the japanese government's emergency declaration. >> translator: we have decided that we e have no choice but to temporarily close. depending on the circumstances, we may extend the measure beyond april 22nd. >> the locations welcome more than 3 million visitors a year. even after the coronavirus began to spread in japan, the site saw nearly 1,000 visitors a day on holidays. the coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on japan's economy, leaving businesses with serious funding problems.. the situation is especially

perilous for those with unstable jobs and they have helped to deal with the chronic labor shortage but face nothing but uncertainty. >> reporter: this is an associate professor at kobe university. he provides support to japan's foreign technical trainees. he was recently informed of a desperate situation involving five young vietnamese people. >> translator: they were taken out of the country because of the coronavirus. >> reporter: the call came for in this man, he lives in the dormitory with the other four. they have been working at a metal plating factory. under the foreign technical trainee system, they signed contracts just like japanese workers do. but in march they were stunned to hear they'd be laid off.

>> translator: i was told my contract had been terminated. the company said i don't have to come to work the next day. because there's no work available due to the coronavirus outbreak. >> reporter: their employer felt there was no other choicice. >> translator: o orders stopped coming in after wuhuhan went in lockdown. no jobs, just uncertainty ahead. >> reporter: they decided to safeguard the jobs of the regular employees and asked others to alternate shifts. but as thehe situation became increasinglyly dire,, he sugges the five trainees stop working for an indefinite period. naturally, they rejected the idea. >> translator: we welcomed them as valuable resources and wanted to keep them on until the terms

ended. it was a tough decision but it couldn't be helped. >> reporter: they're scheduled to leave the dormitory in april but they have nowhere else to to. a supervisory body is supposed to find them another firm, but the rules state they must work in the same industry. for the five vietnamese people the search so far has been fruitless. >> translator: i'll l be first give up hope if i'm not accepted by another firm. please give me some work. please give me the opportunity. >> translator: their jobs are easily taken away when something happens. some havee language problems. they live in a foreign land and don't know what to do.. ththey feel anxious because the don't have anyone to depend on. i think they are in a far more dangerous position than some jajapanese wororkers. >> reporter: foreign technical trainees come to japan with a

sense of hope. clearly, the coronavirus is posing a real threat to their livelihoods. the scale of the problem is unknown. and what happens next is anyone's guess. the u.s. government has started sending one-time relief payments to millions of americans affected by the pandemic. most are expected to receive theirs within the next two weeks. the treasury department announced on monday it's begun depositing the money into taxpayers' bank accounts. >> over 80 million american workers will get the payments this wednesday. many are at home, not workrking >> adults earning up to $75,000

a year are eligible for up to $1,200. families comprising two parent and two children can receive up to $3,400. more than 16 million americans have lost their jobs since the u.s. began implementing lockdown measures. medical workers around the world are on the front line in the battle against the pandemic, but some are being harassed or even attacked amid fears they could be accidentally spreading the coronavirus. in part of central india, angry locals threw stones and chased doctors who came to test a suspected case of infection. >> in the west african nation,

protesters destroyed a testing facility being built in the capital. they said it was too close to their homes. in contrast others have been finding ways to support medical staff. in bangkok this restaurant is funding meals for doctors and nurses. and in venice, another restaurant is cooking free meals for twowo hospitals. the card on this package says those who care for others before ththemselves are the a angels or times. the asian development bank said it's tripling the size of the coronavirus pandemic rescue package. the bank is now pledging $20 billion to support developing member countries and territorieies. the adb says it will help government secure medical supplies and implement economic stimulus measures. the support will consist of

emergency loansns a and grantst. about $2 billion will go to help the private sector. the adb announced last month it would provide $6.5 billion but the worsening situation has now prompted a stronger response. a wildfire that's been burning in the ukraine is edging closer to the defunct chernobyl nuclear power plant. activists warn it could pose a radiation risk, but emergency officials say radiation levels in nearby kiev havenen't change. thee f fire broke o out in theh weststern part around the plant. police say it was started deliberately by a 27-year-oldd locall resident. a plant official told nhk on

monday that it was just 2 kilometers from the plant and close to the storage facilities containing reaction debrbris. ukukrainian ememergency servivi officials have t taken measureso prevent the storage facilities from catching fire. a shelter opened last year to confine radioactive substances at the reactor. but some technical problems remain unresolved such as what methods to use to remove fuel left inside the reactor. there's concern that the fire may cause further delays in the decommissioning work. numerous tornados have hit parts of the united states causing loss of life and severe structural damage. our meteorologist sayaka mori had the details. >> yes, from sunday intoo monda, a tornado outbreak hit the

southeastern united states. there were over 40 confirmed tornadoes a and sadly, at least2 people have been killed by the severe weather. this is the radar from sunday afternoon to monday morning. a cold front moved through the area. as you can see, lots of heavy rainfall pounded the deep south and the east coast.t. we saw large hail as well as damaging winds, , trees were battered even in new york city. the cold front is pulling away from the united states and instead we have multiple high pressure systems dominating the united states and these systems will cause low temperatures. below n normal temperatures wil continue this week from the rockies into the east coast. now, temperatures at night will be very low, especially on a wednesday morning. the lows will be minus 3 in denver. minus 1 in oklahoma city. don't forget to bring your pets inside. it's going to be very cold at night. across the west coast, it's going to be warmer actually.

14 for the high in l.a. meanwhile, let's go to europe. you can see a line of clouds across the east. this system will cause heavy rainfall and heavy rain could hit ukraine and kiev as well as chernobyl. rain is expected on tuesday, but rain will not last long. drier conditions should return on your wednesday with cooler temperatures. kiev 8 for the high on wednesday and moscow at 7 degrees. 18 in paris with sunny weather and temperatures will go up to 25 as we go into friday. warmer conditions expected across central europe as we go into the latter part of this week. and across japan, it's doing to be a warm day on wednesday. in tokyo. the high is going to be 22. it will be more like may and sunny weather conditions will continue into thursday. that's it from me. have a nice day.

and that brings us to the end of this edition of nhk "newsline." i'm yoshi ogasawara.

thanks for watching and we'll have more for you soon. welcome to "newsline in depth." today we'll be focusing on two different types of pastimes. a very popular type of toy and a traditional style that has been brought up to date. toys are a huge industry with a market worth $7.7 billion and despite japan's dwindlingng bir rate that is continuing to grow. the tokyo toy show is held in june.

this footage is from last year's show. it represented fans from all over the country and abroad. we look at a kind of toy that is hugely popular in japan. capsule toys. in japan they're known as gacha and they come in capsules like this one. and they're sold in vending machines for about $3 to $5 each. the japanese names come from the sound you hear as you insert your coin, turn the dial and the capsule drops into the tray at the bottom. you open up the capsule and the toy inside pops out. reminds me a bit of the crackers that are popular in england at christmastime. the toy inside the capsules would be little figurines of people or animals or other objects. something fun, small and inexpensive. what i have here is a tiny

little pen, a miniature version of the pan used for making a ball-shaped japanese snack. behind me here you can get the wide range of capsule toys sold in japan. some are whimsical. you can see a baby monkey and giant panda. i can see mushrooms with different colored stalks on them. here is a penguin and lots more. the thing about this capsule toy is that there's a random element to them. you are not paying for something that you want to buy. what you actually get for your money is up to chance. originally they were imported from the u.s. in the 1960s but now they have taken on a very japanese character. they are continuing to change with the times and attracting new generations.

>> welcome to capsule paradise. in tokyo, you seldom have to look far for toys selling from a vending machine. you put a coin n in, turn the lever and see what comes out. part of the fun of capsules is you don't know what's inside until you pop them open. at this shopping mall in tokyo, a capsule vending machine is causing quite a stir. but it isn't selling toys. it's selling perfume. each capsule costs about 6 1/2 u.s. dollars and contains a small bottle of high end fragrance. >> translator: a full bottle costs about $180.

i sometimes get bored with the scent so this suits me. >> reporter: it's an affordable way for the customers to get a whiff of something new and since the selection is down to chance they tonight have to spend a lot of time deciding what to buy. >> translator: i don't know much about brands so i'm happy to let fate introduce me to a new scent. >> reporter: the machine has proved a hit with people who may not normally splash out on a full sized bottle. some days, the shop sells more than 200 capsules. the shop places special orders for bottles from around the world and now has over 100 varieties in stock. >> translator: the bottles cost a lot to produce, so we aren't making any profit. but it's these capsules get people into the habit of wearing perfume and that starts to spread it willll be worth it in

the long run. >> reporter: capsule toys pop up in some unexpected places. like the town in the mountains of western tokyo. these students at tama university have been thinking of ways too popularize local products. they decided to make handy crafts using local materials and sell them in the vending machine up. among the items -- antlers from deer culled by hunters protecting forests and farm land from the animals. the classmates have been making necklaces and other accessories. other capsules contain badges depicting the area's natural charms. and coupons that can be used at local restaurants. they include free sweet dumplings and discount tickets

for bicycles to encourage people toto come back. >> translator: i think the fact you don't need a pererson to phphysically sell them is a plu an they're food at grabbing people's interest. >> reporter: visitors can find the machine in a cafe at the station. and capsules cost $2.80. >> translator: i want to keep working with other people to make localal products inin caps and i hope to see e them become more popular. >> reporter: capsules are

certainly fun. but they can also serve a different purpose. this one became a smash hit, ringing up saleses at m more th 107,000 units. it's a public telephone. each capsule costs a little less than $3 and contains one of six types of toy phones. >> translator: i wanted to check it out. i saw it on twitter and i looked everywhere but i couldn't find one and now i finally have. >> translator: wow, it's cute. it looks like a real one. this is great. >> reporter: the toys were actually dreamed up by a major japanese telecom firm and they have an educational goal. now that cell phones have become the norm, public telephones are an increasingly rare sight and

many young people don't know how to use one. but if the worst happens and cell phones stop working public phones can be one of the best ways to get through. that's exactly what happened after an earthquake in osaka in 2018 when people lined up to take turns making calls. >> translator: we found that about 80% of elementary school students don't know how to use a public phone. i want children to learn to use them so they can make a call in the event of an emergency or disaster. >> reporter: the company worked with a toy manufacturer to create realistic phones. you u can lift the receiver and even press the button. they also come with a sticker explaining how to use public phones. so children can learn with their parents while playing.

>> translator: we have seen comments on social media about how fun they are. it's important to know how to use publblic phones and we h ho these will spread awareness. >> reporter: life is like a capsule toy. you never know what you're going to get. and from fragrances to handy crafts to educational toys, japan capsule vending machines keep coming up with surprises. >> the capsules were designed to be environmentally friendly. you just leave them in the boxes near the machines to be recycled. but with the spread of the coronavirus some shops have had to close temporarily. next we change our focus to a very traditional type of keepsake. it's a time of a doll that has been in this region for over 400 years.

they are made from unglazed clay. now a youngng man is s a aiming preserveve the tradition by y bringiging it up t to date.

>> as the coronavirus and the stay at home hash tag continue to spread, simple pastimes such as toys and keepsakes are becoming ever more important for daily well-being. >> a and that's it for today "newsline in depth." thank you for watching and see you again next time.

anchor: austria starts lifting its lockdown measures. smsmall shops reopening doors. some shops up and running again in italy. gupta has t the -- details. emmanuel macron extends franan's lockdown for a month. he says there should be enougugh maskss and tests by then, restaurants and bars remain closed. momoscow wararns there could bea shortage soon. we have a